Dredging device.



PATBNTED NOV. 8, 1904.

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J. L. SBARPOSS.

DREDGING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19, 1904.

NO MODEL.

'PATENTED NOV. 8, 1904.

J. L. SEARFUSS.

DREDGING DEVICE.

APPLIOATIQN FILED rms. 1s, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented November 87 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

DREDGING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 774,280, dated November 8, 1904.

Application filed February 19, 1904. Serial No. 194,328. (No model.) l

To all whom/ t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH LYoNs SEARFoss, a resident of the city of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dredging' Devices; and I do hereby declare that the following' is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying' drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in dredging-machines, and'has for its object the construction of simple, practical, and effective means for successfully operating that style of dredgingbucket commonly known as the clam-shell bucket and orange-peel or other pole-operated bucket. The methods heretofore employed have been unsuccessful in operating this class of bucket for dredging in rough water or on a hard bottom, as poles have to be used to guide the bucket while being raised and lowered, and when the bottom is at all hard the bucket has to be held down rigidly by said poles in order to make the jaws bite into the substance on which it rests. Thilev dredging' in rough water the waves raise and lower the dredging-scow, causing the bucket to be lifted clear of the bottom and then dropped down again with great force, often breaking its poles or raising the boom, and its work is very unsatisfactory and in many cases impossible. Vhen the bucket is dropped to the bottom of the river, its jaws are open to the extreme, nearly at right angles to the line of the poles. As itlies on the bottom in this position it is held down by said poles, and

when the bucket rests on a gravel or hard sandy bottom and the power is applied to close the jaws its edges mustnecessarily be forced down into the material or something above must give way and allow the poles to be forced upward. The latter result is usually the case, rendering the work of this class of bucket under these conditions very ineffective.

The object of this invention is to obviate all of the above diiiiculties by regulating the tension or pressure on the bucket through the poles. This is done by grips or binding-yokes which are operated through a flexible connection from a revolving drum and controlled by a friction-brake. This flexible connection also retains the boom in place and gives the necessary pressure to the bucket on the bottom ofthe river while operating.

The invention consists of other novel features and parts and combinations of the'same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in thc appended claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is an elevation illustrating' the position and relation of the different parts. Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the gripyokeand the mechanism for operating the same. Fig. 3 is a side elevation illustrating the mechanism shown in F ig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail of a band-brake such as may be used in controlling the tension of the iiexible connection on said grip-yokes and the boom. Fig. 5 shows a modification illustrating a cam for operating the grip-yoke which may be used in place of the crank-motion shown in the other figures and operated by the saine iiexible connection. Fig. 6 illustrates the position taken by the jaws of the bucket when open.

In the drawings, l denotes a portion of the dredging-scow in section, on which all of the operating mechanism is carried. At 2 is the boom, which is pivotally held on the deck of the scow at '3 to swing laterally in the usual way and carry the bucket to either side when it is required to discharge its contents. On the outer end of this boom is a platform 4, on which is supported and secured the mechanism for gripping and holding the poles of the bucket. At 5 is the bucket of the well-known clam-shell type, which is hung from 4and operated through the poles 6 6, which poles are set one on either side into` the sockets 7 in the usual way. These poles project upward through the locking mechanism on the platform 4 above and are necessarily made very long, so that they will reach to the bottom of Secured to this platform 4 is the 8 of the grip-yoke, (see Fig. 2,)

the river. fixed jaw IOO which is boltcd to said platform. At 9 is the reciprocating jaw on thc opposite side of said poles, which is arranged to slide laterally in the guides 10 10, which guides are secured to said platform on either side thereof. Guidepins 11 11 are secured to said reciprocating jaw and extend through corresponding holes in the fixed jaw, one on either end of the same. Cranks 12 12 are mounted on the shaft 18 and are connected to the lug 14 of the reciprocating jaw 9 by the connections 15 15. At 16 is the outwardly-extending arm on which is adjustably secured the counterbalance-weight 17. The grooved pulley 18 is mounted on and fixed to the shaft 13, which shaft is supported at either end on bearings 29 29. The Wire rope 19 has a turn around this pulley, with one end fixed thereto, and extends down to the front end of the scow, over the idlerpulley 20, and back to the drum 21, around which drum this rope may have one or more turns. This drum is driven from the gear 22 through the pinion 23 and is controlled in its speed and tension by the action of the brake 24, which brake in turn is controlled by the operator. The gear 22 is mounted on the main shaft 25, on which shaft is also mounted the drum 26, by which drum the opening and closing of the bucket is controlled through the connection 27.

The operation of the machine is further de- Y scribed, as follows: When this type of bucket is dropped to the bottom of the river, it is opened, as illustrated in Fig. 6, in the usual way by mechanism not shown, but well understood by those skilled in their use. In closing this bucket again a considerable power has to be exerted through the wire-rope connection 27, the strain of which naturally has a tendency to raise the bucket. Then, again, as hereinbefore described, in attempting to close the jaws of this bucket when it is resting on hard bottom, the natural tendency being to raise instead of embedding itself into the hard material, the strain is again materially increased. Under the above conditions it will be seen that a great strain must be withstood by the poles and by the boom 2, that supports the whole from its end.

I have found that in actual operation it is impractical Linder many conditions to drop the bucket onto the bottom of the river and permanently lock it there while it is being closed without some means for regulating or controlling the tension on it. I have therefore constructed a drum 21, which is mounted on the shaft 28, which shaft is continuously driven from the main shaft through the gears 22 and 23 while the bucket is being operated. The drum 21 may be operated from said shaft 28 through a clutch or brake 24 or by any other suitable method for controlling at will the tension of the rope which is wound around it. VVhenthe bucket is not working and it is desired to release the same, the clutch or friction is thrown out by the lever 245l and the drum is released, the weight 17 on the end of the lever 16 drops and pulls open the'jaws of the grip-yoke automatically, andthe poles are free to move up and down. Then the bucket is dropped onto the bottom of the river and before the power is applied to close it, the operator throws in the friction-clutch and starts the drum 21 to rotating, the Wire rope 19 is tightened up` the counterbalance-weight 17 is raised, the pulley 18 revolves, and the cranks 12 12 descend, closing the sliding jaw 9 of the grip-yoke onto the poles 6 6. Then as the power is applied to close the jaws of the bucket 5 the strain on the wire rope 19 is increased in proportion to counterbalance the upward strain of the bucket. Thus the poles are locked in position and the end of the boom is supported and held down against the great upward strain. The tension on both the poles and the boom may be increased or diminished at will by regulating' the friction on the drum 20. The bucket may be made to cutin as much or as little as desired, and its operation is nicely controlled. When operating in rough water, the bucket is dropped to the bottom and the rising and dropping of the scow is compensated for in a great measure by releasing and tightening up on the rope 19, which supports the end of the boom.

y invention is not restricted to the precise construction and arrangements of parts herein shown and described nor to the various details thereof, as the same may be modified or re-arranged in various particulars without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, one practical embodiment of which has been herein illustrated and described without attempting to show all of the various forms and modifications in which my invention might be embodied.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by .Letters Patent, is-- 1. In adredging-machine, aboom supported at one end, a bucket supported by poles from the opposite end of said boom, means whereby the outer end of said boom is held from rising and means for automatically locking the poles.

2. In a dredging-machine, a boom having one end pivotally supported from saidv machine, a bucket suspended by poles from the outer end of said boom, means for locking said poles in the desired position and flexible means adapted to be set up and hold the outer end of the boom from rising.

3. lIn a dredging-machine, a boom having one end pivotally supported, a bucket suspended by poles from the opposite end of said boom, and means for holding the outer end of said boom from rising and at the same time automatically locking the said bucketvp oles in the desired position.

4. In a dredging-machine, a boom having IOO IIO

ISC

one end pivotally supported from the machine, a bucket suspended by poles from the opposite end of said boom, flexible means for holding the outer end of said boom from rising and means for automatically locking said bucket-poles in the desired position.

5. In a dredging-machine, a boom having one end pivotally supported from the machine, a bucket suspended by poles from the opposite end of said boom, flexible means for holding the outer end of said boom from rising, means for automatically locking said bucketpoles in the desired position and means whereby the tension on said boom through said eXiblelmeans may be increased or diminished at w1 6. In a dredging-machine, a boom having one end pivotall y supported from the machine, a bucket suspended by poles from the opposite end ot' said boom, a revoluble drum on said dredging-machine, a flexible connection controlled by said drum and leading therefrom to said boom to support said boom from rising and means for locking said bucket-poles. Y

7. In a dredging-machine, a boom having a bucket suspended by poles from the opposite end of said boom, a revoluble drum on said dredging-machine, a iiexible connection from said drum to said boom to support said boom from rising, and means for automatically locking said bucket-polesby the tension of said iieXible connection.

8. In a dredging-machine, a boom having one end pivotally supported from the machine, a bucket suspended by poles from the opposite end of said boom, a revoluble drum on said dredging-machine, a iiexible connection from said drum to said boom to support said boom from rising, jaws for gripping and binding the bucket-poles and means whereby said jaws are actuated to engage and hold said poles when said flexible connection is set taut.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 17 th day of February, A. D.`

JOSEPH LYONS SEARFOSS. In presence of` CHARLES E. HIGKEY, Y GEORGE CURTIS MORGAN.

l one end pivotally sup ported from the machine, I 

